The Problem with Potters
by xPhineasx
Summary: Being with James was simple.Not a lot of talking involved most of the time, and lots of touching, and kissing, and other wonderfully distracting actions that helped let Scorpius forget the nagging annoyance of being in love with his best friend J.S.P/SM
1. Chapter 1

The Problem with Potters

Chapter 1(/3)

James II/Scorpius (Some Albus/Scorpius)

Warnings: This is rated M for lemon scenes.

I want to thank all the people who helped me write/edit/beta this. Most importantly, my boyfriend for proof reading, plot brainstorming and blow job research.

X x x

"Ack, James, now the house elves will have to wash my robes again! And at this rate I'll have carpal tunnel by the end of term."

James Potter II laughed, hair obscuring half his sweaty face, looking entirely too bloody pleased with himself. "You're cute when you're flustered, Princess. I love this face you make right after you come."

"You can't says thing like that," Scorpius huffed, not knowing what exactly his face looked like after he came, but hoping that it wouldn't last for long. He didn't need to broadcast his recent orgasm to the school when he got dinner.

"I can so, and if you didn't want carpal we shouldn't have used our hands." James gave a conspiratorial smirk. "We have other options, you know. It's not my fault you're too stuffy to try them."

Scorpius Malfoy rolled his eyes, glad that the dim light of their hiding spot obscured the red tint of his cheeks. They had stuffed themselves into one of the storage rooms down in the dungeons. There wasn't much room between the shelves of ground monkwood and vials of Devil's Snare, but they made do. It was hard to get privacy in Hogwarts, and you had to take what you could get. They couldn't always use the Room of Requirement or the Prefect bathroom, after all. James was 17 this year, a 7th year at last. Somehow he had been made Head Boy, so the Prefect bathroom was their preferred spot, but sometimes it was already in use and they had to find other options. Scorpius suspected that James liked the thrill of using storage closets and forgotten side rooms anyway.

Scorpius began to fix his various undone buttons. He really had no idea how to respond to James. He never did. Scorpius wasn't as brash and bold as James. What could he say when the older boy just non-nonchalantly blurted out that he could make Scorpius come with more than just his hands? The boy seemed to operate on an entirely different wavelength at times.

"Scorpy." James said softly, cupping both the boy's cheeks in his hands. "Come on. Give me a smile. You can't be this grumpy after a hand job."

"I need to go meet Albus for dinner," Scorpius said, looking away. "Thanks though."

James gave a small sigh. "Oh don't thank me for jerking you off, Malfoy. It's weird," he said and leaned in to kiss Scorpius softly on the lips, earning a the coveted smile from the younger blond boy.

. . .

The Great Hall bustled loudly with the dinner rush. Albus was spooning a pile of green beans onto his plate just as Scorpius arrived to sit next to him, hoping that whatever face he made after he came had faded now.

Albus has the prettiest eyes, warm, kind and the color of summer grass. Scorpius knew it sounded ridiculously cheesy, but he couldn't help himself. His best friend was gorgeous. He was funny, and smart and when he smiled he got these dimples in his cheeks that made Scorpius's gut twist with longing. The boy was perfect.

It was weird, Scorpius knew, for a Potter-Weasley to end up in Slytherin. The Potter-Weasley's were the whole group of children spawned from Harry Potter, and the last generation of Weasleys. They were, by tradition, a family of Gryffindors. Albus was the first of his family to ever break the mold, and at first glance, it looked like a mistake. Albus was a gentle kid, with a soft face and an easy laugh. Anyone would think he looked out of place in the strikingly aggressive green and silver of Slytherin house.

Scorpius however, saw deeper than just that. Albus wanted to prove himself. He was ambitious to rise above his famous father, Harry Potter; his famous mother, Ginny Weasley Potter; and his incredibly popular older brother, James. Though he would never step on any toes to get there, Albus Potter wanted to be on top.

Scorpius had first seen him on the train on the way to Hogwarts first year. He made sure to steer clear of the whole family, as his father told him to, but he couldn't help but notice Albus,and the way his green eyes seemed to wander around, watching people. It was that night, sitting at the Slytherin table, that he and Albus became friends. It was almost instantaneous. Scorpius just couldn't find it in himself to say anything snarky to the boy. He wanted Albus to like him, no matter what his father had told him. Albus was just that kind of person.

It was through Albus that Scorius met James, and the rest of the Weasley-Potter gaggle. It was through Albus that Scorpius had made most of his friends, and in true Potter fashion, earned most of his detentions for sneaking out after hours to steal food from the kitchens. For the first four years of school everything was perfect. It wasn't until fifth year that there became a...problem.

Malody Longbottom came prancing up to their table and sat down next to Albus just as Scorpius getting comfortable. It ruined Scorpius' dinner just as it was beginning.

Melody Longbottom was the one problem. It wasn't really her fault. She was a nice enough girl. She was a fourth year Ravenclaw. She was brainy; cute, if you liked that sort of thing; and sweet on Albus. The problem was, of course, that Albus was just as sweet on her. Scorpius knew it was shallow of him to hate his best friend's girlfriend just because he was desperately in love with the boy, but he couldn't help it. Every time she slipped over to the Slytherin table and laid her head on Al's shoulder, Scorpius found himself wanting to get downright catty with the girl.

Scorpius didn't know Melody too well, if he was honest. He had never taken the time to get to know her, but from what he could gather she suffered from a milder form of famous-war-parent-itis that afflicted the Potter-Weasleys. Her father, Professor Neville Longbottom, had earned a great deal of prestige in the final battle of Hogwarts. Her mother, Hannah Longbottom, had been in the DA and now ran the Leaky Cauldron. Melody, for whatever reason, didn't share her father's enthusiasm for plants and the outdoors. She stayed in the castle (except to watch Albus play Quidditch), doing whatever it was that Ravenclaws did with their time, and made lovey-dovey eyes at Albus a lot. She had a younger brother, Frankie, who ended up in Gryffindor and seemed friendly with Molly Weasley. Beyond that, all Scorpius knew about Melody was that he hated her.

Malfoys didn't have to put up with this kind of thing. Malfoys were supposed to get what they want, no matter what. He was fifteen years old. He should have been swept off his feet into the perfect relationship by now. But instead he was stuck, with his best friend, the boy he was in love with, in the universe's most ridiculously sappy relationship with some petulant fourth year girl. All while he fiddled around with Albus's older brother.

When Melody walked over and sat down next to Albus only two minutes after Albus had arrived, it ruined Scorpius's dinner, and he rather regretted fleeing James' presence so soon. As hungry as Scorpius was, the idea of sitting there and listening to Melody and Albus prattle on about how in love they were would sour his mood. At least around James he didn't have to deal with the sickening sinking sensation inspired by Albus and his poofy-haired four-eyed girlfriend holding hands.

As if on cue, Albus reached over and placed his hand on his girlfriend's wrist and began to ask her about her day, her homework, her friends. Each question prompted some inane, boring reply from the girl. Their fellow Slytherins gave the Ravenclaw girl a passing glance and a snort. In general they disapproved of having non-Slytherins at the house table, but with Arius Clockworth spending nearly all his time at the Hufflepuff table these days to flirt with Jonathan Moorland, and Albus eating at the Gryffindor table with his brother and sister every other day, they knew it would be unfair to ban inter-house mingling on their own turf.

"Then," Melody said,scrunching up her nose fitfully, "Leonard Quirm nearly set the whole common room on fire with his new contraption! It was some helicopter thing. It crashed right into the biography bookshelf!"

"Didn't Leo knock over the Potions bookshelf just last week with his steam powdered train?" Albus replied with a laugh.

"That's Leo. He's brilliant, but destructive," Melody said, clearly not very amused by her house mate's antics. "Anyway, we should do out homework together. I have so much to do. Anyway, I'm thinking of cutting my hair again," Melody said, running one of herhands through her shoulder length hair.

"But I like your hair long," Albus said with a small smile.

Scorpius sat there, unable to contribute to the conversation at all, feeling annoyed. Listening to Albus and Melody making idle chit chat made him all the more appreciative that he had managed to avoid such blithering talk with James. He and James did not chit chat. They did not swap gossip. They did not have drama.

Being with James was simple. Aggravating at times, but simple. Not a lot of talking involved most of the time, and lots of touching, and kissing, and other wonderfully distracting actions that helped let Scorpius forget the nagging annoyance of being in love with his best friend.

It was a secret of course, the things he did with James. No one knew, especially not Albus. Merlin, not Albus. Never, ever, Albus. Not Lily, or Rose, or Hugo, or Roxie, or any of their Slytherin house mates. That was the way he wanted it.

Things with James had started so quietly, just about the time that Albus started dating Melody two months earlier. James always pushing forward, the sly looks, the odd brushes, finally the kissing when they were alone in hallways, the private encounters in the Room of Requirement and dungeon store rooms and broom closets and prefect bathrooms. It was lovely. Apart from Scorpius' own hang ups about Albus, there was one single problem.

Sodomy sent chills up Scorpius's spine. The idea of making himself so vulnerable, of letting James Potter make a woman out of him. He couldn't stand it. With James being older, and the more, well, dominant force in the relationship any attempt to be more physical than they were now would end up with James wanting...that. Secretly, he always added, the only boy he'd ever want...inside him, was Albus. So far he'd been able to keep James at bay about the whole thing, which James chalked up to his "snobby pureblood princess pride." And of course there was the detail that Scorpius was madly in love with James' little brother, and couldn't help but imagine that it was Albus who was kissing him and touching him while he was alone with James. But over all, this...thing he had with James (he refused to think of it as a relationship) was nice.

"I can't wait to see you play Hufflepuff next week," Melody was saying, her fingers still laced with Albus'. "My brave little Keeper," she gave a laugh and kissed his cheek. Scorpius rolled his eyes and continued to butter his roll. This could not be any worse. This was even more torturous than when he tried to sit at the Gryffindor table with the majority of Albus' family and had to endure nearly an hour of pureblood jabs and slytherin jokes.

There were a lot of Potter-Weasleys. It was hard to keep them straight most of the time: who were siblings, god-siblings, and cousins. There were thirteen of them in all. First there were the Potters, Harry and Ginny Potter's children, James, Albus, and Lily. Then there was Ron and Hermione Weasley's children, Rose and Hugo. George and Angelina Weasley had Freddie and Roxie. Percy and Audrey Weasley had Molly and Lucy. Charlie Weasley had no children because, like a reasonable person, he much preferred dragons to diaper changing. Bill and Fleur Weasley had Viccy, Dominique and Louis. Then there was Teddy Lupin who, though not blood related closely, was Harry Potter's God-son and so he counted too. Scorpius considered it a godsend that many of them didn't attend Hogwarts at the moment. (Teddy, Viccy and Freddie had graduated. Dominique and Louis went to school in France. Lucy was still too young.) But that still left seven Potter-Weasleys enrolled at school this year; James, Albus, Lily, Rose Hugo, Molly, and Roxie. All those names, relations, and family gossip was a lot for an only child like Scorpius to deal with at times.

True, he got on well with much of Albus's family. Rose was nice enough and Roxie was amusing. Hugo was quiet and never bothered him. But, no offense to Albus, some of this other relatives, namely the younger bratty Lily and Molly drove him mad. He had no idea what he was going to do when the youngest of all the Weasley Potters, little Lucy Weasley came to school next year.

"Well, I'll look for you in the stands, babe" Albus said happily. "You're the best cheerleader a guy could wish for." Melody gave a happy giggle at that. The truth was, Scorpius couldn't wait to see Albus play either. Both Potter sons had inherited a great deal of Quidditch skill from their parents. Albus was Keeper for Slytherin team, and a good one at that. James played Beater for Gryffindor. Watching either of them fly often filled Scorpius with a burst of awe, and a slight regret for never allowing himself to try out for the team and follow in his own father's seeker footsteps.

Regardless of that, all this talk of 'babe' and 'best cheerleaders' was making Scorpius lose his appetite even more than before. "Al, I'm going to go to the library for a few hours," Scorpius said, hoping to escape from the rather sickening scene before he lost his dinner. He didn't give Albus a chance to say goodbye before he was gone, headed through the halls with a mission, each step snapping on the floor.

"What? Again already?" James said in surprise as Scorpius found him out by the courtyard and began to drag him into the castle by his necktie. "Scorpius?" After a few feet Scorpius released him. He didn't want to risk the whole school pulling James Potter along by the tie after all.

"Stop talking." Scorpius snapped as he found a reasonably sized storage closet just past the stairs on the second floot and pushed the older boy inside, kissing him hard on the mouth as the door slammed shut behind them. James' hands slid down the boy's sides.

James pulled out of the kiss, staring into the younger boy's grey eyes in the dim light of the closet. "Bloody hell. Are you horny again already?" he asked with a small laugh. Scorpius was shoved uncomfortably against a shelf, but he ignored the discomfort.

"No. Shut up." Scorpius said, lightly hitting the boy's chest. "I just want you to kiss me for a while." He pulled him back down into a kiss by the neck tie and let the ache in his heart disappear. All he had to do was close his eyes and imagine that instead of James, he was kissing Albus. It wasn't hard. The boys looked enough alike, even if James was older and lacked the wonderful green eyes that Albus had.

And for a moment, everything felt ok.

. . .

So that's how things were. The next afternoon Scorpius was working on his potions essay with the help of Rose Weasley, while her cousin, Roxie, fiddled with something tricky looking that her father George had sent her from his joke shop. They were outside, enjoying the nice weather while they had it. Spring was still young, new and fragile, and they probably had at least one more frost before the rain thawed out Scotland for the rest of a wet and muddy spring.

Scorpius liked Rose Weasley. She was quieter than most her cousins and, despite being a Gryffindor, didn't generally give him a hard time about his family's past. Whether that was out of politeness or the fact that she simply didn't care (being fed up of people dwelling on the second war and her parents part in it herself), wasn't clear. Tall, ginger, bushy haired, when Scorpius met her parents he almost burst out laughing at how much she looked like them. They made solid enough friends, despite her father's concerns that they were going to get married someday.

Roxie Weasley was a completely different matter. She had always been hyperactive, but ever since her older brother Freddie had graduated the year prior, she had taken it upon herself to be annoying enough for both of them. Every few weeks she'd get an owl from her father filled with joke shop merchandise, keeping her well stocked for her pranks and gags as she rolled around the school on a pair of ridiculous enchanted roller skates that could tackle stairs. She was a third year now, with short, fitfully untidy hair and a wicked tricky grin that Scorpius's father said ran in that family. She wore her robe like a cape so that it billowed out behind her as she skated from class to class. Back in her first year she had worn an actual cape, red and glittery, so Scorpius decided this was at least an improvement.

Scorpius's father was rather amused by his choice to befriend the Weasley-Potter gaggle. They were, on average, a loud, excitable group of kids who were used to the luxuries of famous parents. They weren't even confined to Gryffindor house anymore. Albus was the first Weasley-Potter to break the trend, but not the last. With Percy Weasley's oldest daughter Molly in Ravenclaw, Albus in Slytherin, and Rose's younger brother Hugo in Hufflepuff, Hogwarts had finally achieved house unity in the Weasley family. For all their annoyances and tendencies to tease him, Scorpius got on well with most of them, and often found himself in their company when Albus was horrifically preoccupied with the Longbottom girl.

At the moment Roxie was uncharacteristically quiet. Among the Peruvian darkness powder and stink bombs that her dad had sent was a small, silver puzzle which so far had left her baffled. Apart from the soft tinkling of little silver pieces and the soft scratch of Rose's quill against parchment the trio was blissfully quiet. A tiny bottle of ink levitated about six inches off the ground where Rose could refill her quill when needed, giving off a small humming noise. Scorpius was always impressed at the little ways Rose thought of to use magic.

"This is stupid." Roxie sighed, dropping the jingling contraption onto the grass. "And now I'm bored."

"Don't you have homework?" Rose asked, not looking up from her essay. Scorpius let out a chuckle. "What?" the girl snorted, clearly convinced that Scorpius was laughing at her, which wasn't exactly untrue. His father had told Scorpius about Hermione Granger-Weasley, and Rose seemed far too much like her mother to be possible. True, at times Rose would set aside the books and help her cousins pull off some prank; or go with Hugo and the Hufflepuffs into the kitchens late at night, proving that she could Weasley like the best of them; but most of her time was spent on homework and reading for pleasure. Curing boredom with homework was just a little too fitting for her personality for Scorpius not to laugh a little.

"Nothing, nothing." Scorpius said, still chuckling. "Yes, Roxie. Don't you have homework? You could do that instead," he suggested.

"I...have a better idea," the wild child of the Weasleys said with a devilish grin before scooting over to Scorpius looking far, far to innocent. "Now, don't try to resist."

Scorpius sighed. He knew what was coming now. There was no way to avoid it at this point. This was the problem with having long hair. Scorpius didn't even consider it all that long, barely to his shoulders. It was certainly much shorter than his grandfather's hair, and given that he normally wore it in a pony tail it didn't even look very long. But it was long enough for Roxie to want to braid it at any given moment. Sure enough, Roxie slid up behind him and undid the ribbon holding his hair back. She began to weave his hair into a fairly undignified braid.

It was Rose's turn to laugh at him now, but this was an indignity that he was used to. Anyway, it kept Roxie quiet, and that was the important thing.

Then they were presented with a mixed blessing. Albus walked up, his ferret Rarity, sitting on his shoulder and, amazingly, no girlfriend in sight. However, the youngest Potter, Lily, was also in tow.

"Roxie," Albus said with a laugh, his calming presence making Scorpius instantly relax. "Are you braiding Scorp's hair again?" he asked as he sat on the ground next to Scorpius. Scorpius had to fight a blush. The truth was he had grown his hair out to its current braid-able length because of Albus. Albus liked long hair.

Rarity scampered off her master's shoulders and curled up in Scorpius's lap happily, giving a little toothy yawn. Scorpius pet the ferret under the chin happy and smiled at the boy. "Hi Al."

"Hey."

"Scorpius's hair looks better braided!" Roxie said defiantly to her cousin. "It's fetching."

"Well, you know what they say about Purebloods. It's all about keeping their coat shiny," Lily said with a smirk. "Just don't break a leg, thoroughbred, or they might put you down."

Scorpius sighed. Lily's taunts weren't even that clever, but the girl seemed to think that she was oh so funny when she said them. Of all Albus's relations, Lily had to be the most self-entitled. She was obnoxiously proud of her famous father, her famous mother, and all their famous family members. The way she carried herself, like she was somehow supposed to be praised for what her parents had done in the last war, rubbed Scorpius' nerves raw. Maybe, he told himself, it was just because he spent so much of the time hoping that people _wouldn't_ judge him on his parents' actions in a war fought and won long before he was born, that the sight of Lily Potter expecting such treatment made her near unbearable for him.

"Hello, Lily," Scorpius said dully, not wanting to offend Albus by ignoring the boy's sister. Scorpius comforted himself that at least Molly hadn't shown up, but he didn't hold his breath. At this rate every Potter-Weasley in a fifty miles radius would be flocked around him.

"Roxie, when you're done making Scorp look fetching, you think I could steal him away for a while? Slytherin stuff," Albus said.

"Sure, sure, " Roxie laughed as she continued on the braid. Lily fell into conversation with Rose, or rather, Lily began to talk at Rose, while Rose simply nodded and continued to work on her paper. It didn't take long for Roxie to finish the braid and retie his hair with his ribbon. "He's all yours, and suitably fetching."

Scorpius got up, Rarity crawling up onto his shoulders as he did. He was thankful to escape and followed Albus inside. "So, Slytherin stuff?" he asked, watching Albus.

Albus turned to him with a grin. "Thought I'd rescue you," he said happily. "Now, I'll race you to the common room!" He took off at a sprint and was halfway down the stairs before Scorpius gained any kind of speed. He knew he'd never catch Albus, but the chase was pretty fun anyway.

. . .

"J-james, it's c-cold." Scorpius panted, pressed up against the chilly tiles of the Prefect bathroom. The best part of James being head boy, Scorpius had decided, was the undisturbed use of the prefect bathroom. It was a Saturday, and Albus was off with Melody for the morning and would spend the afternoon at Slytherin Quidditch practice. This gave Scorpius an entire day to kill without his best friend, which meant most of it would be spent alone with James.

James had found him mid-morning and with a wild smirk and casual nod of his head had led Scorpius wordlessly away from the library to be alone. He had checked his fathers map, a curious enchanted thing, to make sure their preferred spot was unoccupied at the moment before heading upstairs. He had Scorpius naked to the waist, pressed up against the chilly damp tiles of the bathroom wall within ten minutes. Scorpius tried not to think of the stained glass mermaid watching them with interest as James's body heat flooded his thoughts, the steamy, humid air filling his lunges. James himself was only in his underwear, his Quidditch-honed body already sticky with the steamy humidity of the bathroom. Behind them the bath slowly filled up with warm, soapy water. It took forever for the bath to fill. It was swimming pool sized after all, with over a dozen different faucets. They had plenty of time before the tub filled and their bath was ready.

The older boy fumbled with the buttons on Scorpius's pants, grumbling under his breath as he nibbled on Scorpius's shoulder. "I hate button flies. Why can't you just have a zipper like a normal person? Why have four goddamn buttons instead?" he was muttering, making Scorpius laugh despite his racing pulse and flushed skin.

"You know, they say that to overcome something or someone you have to be at least two percent more intelligent than whatever it is you're trying to conquer," Scorpius said, chuckling. James' ineloquent fumbling had given him a moment to regain his breath. "Come on James, be two percent smarter than the buttons," he teased.

"Oh shut up. I could just hex your pants off," James grunted as he finally got the last button free, proving that, if nothing else, he was two percent smarter than a series of buttons. He tugged Scorpius's trousers and underwear off, running his hands up the boy's pale legs with a triumphant smirk as he knelt down in front of the boy on his knees.

"You know, we're in a shower. It shouldn't have been that hard for you to get me naked." Scorpius said, shivering lightly as James' hands ran up his thighs.

"Yeah, yeah, keep teasing." James said and leaned forward to kiss the boy on the hip, his tongue tasting the salt on his skin. Slowly his kisses slipped lower. Scorpius found that he was just about out of witty comments as his brain filled with crackling static. Scorpius had always felt weird about getting blow jobs. Unlike hand jobs, Scorpius felt more...indebted to James afterward, guilty for having James pleasure him without simultaneously returning the favor. Hand jobs, he felt, left them on more even ground, but he couldn't deny how good it felt when James took him into his mouth.

"J-james, you don't have to..." Scorpius breathed, but without the strength to actually pull away from the boy.

"Are you going to keep talking?" James said, looking up at his with those striking brown eyes. They weren't as captivating as Albus's green to be sure, but Scorpius had learned to associate them with James's wild and reckless lust for him. James continued to kiss down Scorpius's pelvis slowly when Scorpius found no answer to that.

Scorpius let out a small gasp as James licked the very tip of his cock, sending a shivering spiral of pleasure right to his brain. He pressed his hands and his back flat against the tiles. "James..." Scorpius said, looking down at him. He was already hard from the heated kissing, but the feeling of James's tongue against his foreskin made him become even more erect.

James took the head of the boy's cock into his mouth slowly, sending more shivers up Scorpius's spine. His brown eyes stared into his, a hint of a smirk in them. Scorpius gave a half-hearted snort and closed his eyes, letting the sensations rush through him blindly. Scorpius's breathing was growing more ragged as James continued to slide his cock in and out of his mouth. Nothing else really compared to this; the stimulation in his foreskin, the heat of James's breath and mouth on his skin, the feeling of James holding his hips so tightly so that he couldn't squirm too much. Scorpius lost track of time. He had no idea how long it lasted, him pressed against the bathroom wall, gasping and moaning with his cock in James's mouth.

"James...J-james..." Scorpius panted, his nails desperately trying to grip onto the slick tiles behind him as he knees got weaker. With his eyes closed he was finding it hard not to imagine Albus on his knees in front of him, his green eyes, his freckled nose. He had to keep saying James's name over and over to be sure he didn't let a moaned 'Albus' slip out by mistake. He assumed that James wouldn't take kindly to that.

James chuckled, sending a humming vibration down Scorpius's cock. He slid away from Scorpius for just a moment, one hand wrapping around Scorpius to continue stroking him. "You doing alright up there, Princess?"

"D-don't call me Princess, James.." Scorpius panted, his entire body shaking slightly, his head thrown back, heart pounding in his ears.

"Are you close?" James asked in a low husky voice, his tongue running over the sensitive head of his cock. Scorpius gave a tiny yelp.

"Y-yes. James...ah..." Scorpius panted, his chest rising and falling.

"Say please." James was smirking at him, clearly enjoying watching the boy writhe under his touch.

Scorpius gave a small huff in protest.

"Come on Scorp. Say 'please make me cum'."

"You're an arse, James." Scorpius grunted, but James just kept smirking at him, stroking him slowly with his hand, keeping him right on the edge. "P...please, make me cum..." Scorpius said softly, blushing a deep crimson color. He felt a little humiliated with James toying with him like this, but he had to admit it was worth it when James took his cock back into his mouth even deeper than before.

Scorpius felt a spasm run through his body, making him twitch against the wall. His hands pressed against the tiles trying to grip on to something as the sensation finally began to overcome him. "I...I...aaah," his words dissolved in his throat before he could finish them as he came. His heart pounded in his ears, his body aching with exhaustion as his cum filled James' mouth. His mind went blank. Albus' green eyes and James' brown blended together and then burned up into the white hot nothing of the moment.

"S..sorry," Scorpius said weakly, panting.

James swallowed, a thin dribble of cum slipping down his chin as he smirked up at Scorpius and pulled away. "What did I tell you about apologizing?" he said and got up off his knees. He kissed Scorpius again, making the boy taste the salty hint of his own semen. "Come on," James said softly, and rubbed his nose against Scorpius's in an affectionate gesture. He slid out of his underwear at last. "The bath is ready."

"W..what about you?" Scorpius asked, being led by the hand into the bathtub.

James splashed into the warm swimming pool sized tub. "Take a minute to recover," James said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "After the bath, we'll see if you can't get some carpal tunnel going on."

Scorpius blushed, but didn't complain, following James into the warm water.

. . .

Scorpius was at his favorite spot in the Library, back by the big glass windows, working on his charms essay with Albus when he heard James approach. Scorpius and Albus normally worked on their homework together in the Library, under the assumption that most Weasley-Potters took to the quiet solitude of the magical library as well as cats did to water. If they wanted to get any work done without Lily, or Roxie, or Hugo, or Molly coming to bother them then the Library was the place for that. James normally steered clear as well, as he had his own 7th grade study partners and the noise rule was often at odds with his naturally loud personality.

On that day however, as the pair of Slytherins tried to polish off their charms paper, James slipped up behind them with his normal silly grin. "Well, if it isn't my favorite little garden snakes," James hissed in a ridiculously loud whisper.

"Hey James," Albus said, rolling his eyes as his older brother slipped into the chair next to Scorpius. "Wotcher?"

"Just got an owl from Dad," James said, grinning at his little brother. "He got the promotion."

"Really?" Scorpius asked, impressed. He had met Mr. Potter only a few brief times, and from what he could tell, the man was already very high up in the Ministry ranks. He could imagine his father grinding his teeth when he found out about the man's newest success.

"Oh yes, it's official. He's head of the department now," James said proudly. James leaned to his left slightly, letting his arm brush up against Scorpius. Scorpius couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, but the heat from the older boy's arm flooded into him.

"So, the famous Harry Potter is now even MORE famous. Delightful," Scorpius said in a mock tone that imitated his father's.

"Hey, from what we can tell, you rich ass father is always getting richer. Goblin stocks and investment dividends,," James laughed and nudged Scorpius playfully. "What does your dad even do for a living?"

"Professional rich person," Scorpius said with a smirk back.

Both Potter boys let out a laugh. "How can you be professionally rich?" Albus asked. Scorpius looked away from James to answer his best friend.

"Playing the stock market. Investing. Donating money to St. Mungos and Hogwarts so our name gets stamped on things. Professional rich people stuff," Scorpius said proudly. "He's also a consulting lawyer for the Ministry, but he treats it more as a hobby."

"Your family is so weird," James said with a smirk and ruffled Scorpius's hair so it messed up his pony tail.

Scorpius blushed slightly but smirked back. "Oh yes, and the Potter-Weasleys are a picture of normalcy," he teased. The conversation died in laughter then, as no one could deny the sarcasm. Scorpius often forgot how nice it was to just hang out with James normally. Sure, the boy was loud and obnoxious, with no tact and questionable social decency, but he did make Scorpius laugh.

"We need to go back to our essays, James," Albus said. "Write Dad and tell him I'm happy for him."

"It's charms, yeah?" James said. "You know I got an O on that O.W.L. Let me help," he offered with a smile. When he wanted to be, James could be pretty smart too, and Scorpius couldn't deny he made the essay writing more entertaining.

. . .

"The Fanged Geranium is an aggressive little plant," Professor Neville Longbottom said, feeding a small, dead mouse the the fierce looking flower. "As you will recall from last year, Fanged Geraniums are hunting flowers, so don't leave your fingers too close to the petals. We don't want any trips to the Hospital Wing, do we?"

Scorpius tried not to groan. There was something unbearable about Professor Longbottom. Albus and his whole family seemed to adore him. Good for Albus. Albus was snogging the man's daughter. Albus should like him. Scorpius however found the man to be bumbling and dull. So he was a war hero, fantastic. Scorpius didn't care. The best thing about being a sixth year he had decided was going to be dropping Herbology.

"So today you're all going to feed and water your Geraniums. You may be asked to do this on the O.W.L.s later this year, so make sure you can do it well. Be nice to them and they'll be...less mean to you. Maybe. They each need about five mice. Homework is on the board at the front of the Greenhouse. I was a twelve inch essay on the proper care and potential uses for the Geranium by next week."

Scorpius watched his Professor. The man smiled down at the horrible little plant on the table with something close to affection as he addressed the class. He was a soft faced, big eared man. Scorpius couldn't imagine him at that final battle, wielding the sword of Gryffindor, slaying the snake Nagini. He believed it happened, sure, his father had seen it, but he just couldn't imagine it actually happening.

"I hate these things," Scorpius sighed, looking over at Albus, who was giving him an amused half-smile, making his freckles scrunch up on the top of his nose. Rose was sitting next to Albus on the other side, staring at the plants like they were the most boring waste of time she could think of.

"You hated them last year too," Albus said as they stood up to get their supplies for the day. That was true. Last year Scorpius had earned himself a nasty bite on the ankle when Jasper Creevy left a Fanged Geranium on the floor. There was a lot of blood, but everyone still treated him like he was over reacting when he kicked the blasted potted plant and stubbed his toe as well. It had been embarrassing. James had laughed so hard when he heard the story that he nearly choked on a muffin.

"Yeah, I know. I still hate them," Scorpius said sullenly, earning another laugh from Albus.

"I'm going to go get the mice and say hi to Professor Longbottom. Could you get the geraniums we'll need and the watering can? I'll be right back." Albus slipped away from the table and headed towards the front of the greenhouse.

"You don't seem happy about this either," Scorpius noted, looking over at Rose. They walked over to the table where all the geraniums sat, snapping at the air fitfully.

"I'd rather be working on my Transfiguration essay. You know I dislike this subject." Rose and picked up a few geranium pots while Scorpius grabbed a watering can and began to carry it back to their table. "When are you going to write the essay for this class?"

"I don't know," Scorpius sighed. This was their O.W.L. year, and the homework load was heavy. Scorpius had no idea how Albus was able to do both Quidditch and keep up with his classes. He could barely finish all his essays on time and his only other activity was sneaking off with James. "I might ask James for help. He got high scores in Herbology when he took it."

"Might be kind of hard for him to answer your questions with your dick in his mouth." Rose's voice was sly, almost teasing when she said it. Scorpius dropped the watering can onto the ground, splashing water all up his pants.

"W..what?" Scorpius watched as Rose nonchalantly carried her geraniums back to the table.

Rose turned to him and with a flick of her wand, levitated the watering can off the ground by his feet and over to their table. Scorpius scuttled over to the table, his heart beating twice as fast as it should. That was a secret. His...thing with James was a secret. No one knew. How could Rose possibly know? If Rose knew, who else knew? These questions raced through Scorpius's mind like wild fire. "How...how did you know about me and James?" Scorpius asked in a hushed voice. He glanced behind him to make sure that Albus was still talking to Professor Longottom.

"It's pretty obvious really. As long as you're clever and observant and logical about things. So, I'm the only one who knows." Rose picked up the watering can and poured some of the water onto their plants.

"But...but how?"

"I'm just observant," Rose said and looked up at him. She had piercing eyes, filled with a quickness and a cleverness that Scorpius sometimes forgot was there. Rose wasn't just a book worm. She was also incredibly bright, having her magical curiosity and natural talent fostered by an attentive talented mother, and a supportive father her entire life before ever stepping foot into Hogwarts. She, like Roxie and Freddie and even Hugo, was a child of her father and uncle's joke shop. She had a deep tricky streak and enjoyed, on occasion, making people squirm. "The way James looks at you, the way you two will look at each other wordlessly and then slip off together sometimes. It wasn't a hard connection to make."

"You haven't told Albus, have you?"

"No, and neither have you. Why is that exactly? You know Albus won't mind," Rose said trying to read his face. "Why is Albus your first concern, Scorpius?"

"I just...don't want him to know. James is his brother for Merlin's sake. Why are you mentioning this?" Rose never mentioned anything without a reason. Words held weight with her and she didn't waste them lightly.

"Just confirming my hypothesis, really. I wasn't entirely sure if you were shagging James or not until you dropped that watering can. Your face was very funny." Rose gave him a little smirk and turned her gaze back to the plants.

"Please don't tell anyone. Especially Albus," Scorpius said softly. He couldn't risk Albus finding out about him and James, and it that meant begging Rose Weasley for secrecy then he would beg. He found it hard to say exactly why he didn't want Albus to know so badly. Most of it rested, he knew, on the secret hope that one day Albus would wake up and realize that he and Scorpius could be so perfect together and Scorpius didn't want this little side business with James mucking that up. He felt a twinge of guilt about that, but he already knew that deep down he wasn't a very good person for all this.

"I don't see why Albus specifically-"

"Please." Scorpius could see Albus slowly making his way back over to them at last with a box of tiny, doomed mice. "Just, please."

Rose have him a critical look and answered "fine," just in time for Albus to slid into the seat next to her.

Scorpius found that he had very little to say about anything that Albus and Rose ended up talking about as they sat there feeding the horrified little mice to the ravenous plants. He had a bag of rocks in his stomach. His secret was out, albeit thankfully only to one person. At least it was Rose who knew, and not one of the less reasonable, more gossipy kids. As long as Albus didn't find out though, everything would be ok.

. . .

Scorpius had no idea where James was leading him. James was staring at his map intently, apparently leading Scorpius to some newly thought of rendezvous point. Scorpius followed along, his heart hammering inside his chest with anticipation. It had been days since he had learned that Rose knew his secret, and he hadn't gotten a chance to be alone with James since. Between James' upcoming N.E.W.T.s and his own O.W.L.s, not to mention James's Quidditch and his Head Boy duties, they were both horribly busy. He hadn't told James that Rose knew yet. He wasn't planning on telling him either. In fact, Scorpius just wanted to act like the whole thing hadn't happened.

"Here we are," James said as they approached a large painting of a winged horse. The horse looked at them curiously, it's tail twitching. James walked up and ran his fingers down the canvas over the horse and stepped back in time for the picture to swing open. James hopped in.

Scorpius peered into the hole before following. It was pitch black inside and smelled like dirt. Scorpius stepped inside nervously. "Secret passage?"

"Lumos," James said, his wand lighting up and illuminating his face, as well as the stone walls and packed dirt floor of what, indeed, seemed to be a secret passage. "Yup. Since the Prefect Bathroom shows people in it on the map and Roxie said she was using Room of Requirement for experiments, I thought we might try a new spot today."

"Experiments?" Scorpius asked.

"Better not to ask probably," James said. "Anyway, yes. So I found this passage."

"I thought all the passages were sealed in the war, apart from the one in the Room of Requirement," Scorpius said, taking another step inside. He gave a small jump as the painting swung back into place behind him.

"Well, this one was built at some point between the war and when Teddy came to school. He found it his fourth year." James took Scorpius's hand and led him deeper into the passage. The passage had a few sharp turns and winding twists as they traveled deeper inside it.

"But where does it let out?"

"The storm drain behind Zonko's I think."

"Hogsmeade? Why are we going there?"

"We aren't," James stopped walking, dropping his still glowing wand and his map onto the floor and took Scorpius' other hand. With a smirk he kissed the boy, pressing him back against the wall. Scorpius gave a small surprised gasp at the sudden feeling of the cool stone on his back and the warmth of James's body on his chest.

James broke the kiss, their lips barely touching in the dim light. "Scorpius," he whispered, resting his forehead against him. They stayed like that for a moment, their breath mixing together. "We'll have plenty of privacy here," James told him and pulled him back into a kiss.

The dim flickering wand light and the complete silence of being so far underground made Scorpius feel like, for just a moment, they were the only people in the world. He closed his eyes and let the feeling of that kiss flood through him, hot and wet while the rough skin of James' hands on his wrists and then his cheek, his neck, slipping into the hem of his robe.

James was taking his time getting Scorpius out of his clothes, revealing his skin to the cold air inch by inch and then kissing it warm. As he slipped Scorpius's robes off he kissed down his neck, to his shoulders. He unbuttoned Scorpius's shirt slowly, kissing down his chest further and further with each button. James didn't normally go so slow and it was filling Scorpius with the most unbearable anticipation. Scorpius was used to rushed, fumbling encounters in broom closets. Having to wait for James to finally touch him was driving him mad.

Finally James was at his zipper. "Finally, no more button flies," he said amused, and pushed Scorpius's trousers down to his knees before slipping back up to kiss Scorpius again and pulling Scorpius's hair out of it's silly Roxie-braid that he had earned that morning. James tossed his own robe to the side, letting it land next to the still lightly glowing wand, and map on the floor and undid his own buttons and zippers at a hurried pace. Scorpius gave a pleasant shiver as he felt James's hands, slightly rough from his years on a broom stick, slide down his chest and wrap around his cock.

James's cock was already as stiff as his, and Scorpius began to stroke it in time with James stroking him. Scorpius broke their kiss with a moan. James buried his face in Scorpius's shoulder, lost in his long hair. Waves of pleasure were wrapping around Scorpius's mind, the dim light and the utter silence of their hiding spot lulling his mind far, far away. He could feel James's heart beating against his chest as their strokes became faster, cocks slowly becoming slicker with precum.

"J-james..." Scorpius breathed, his eyes closed, one hand stroking the older boy, the other gripping James's hair. He had trained himself well to say James's name, even when his mind was imagining freckles and flashing green eyes.

"Scorpius...I..." James lifted his head up and kissed Scorpius again, hot and wet. "I think I...I...lo-"

Over the sound of his heart hammering in his ears, Scorpius heard a small gasp and the shuffle of feet to his left, and James's sentence died in his throat. The light in the tunnel brightened just for a moment, like another wand had turned the corner to add to James's wand's light and then quickly disappeared. In one horrified second, Scorpius realized that someone had seen them.

James realized it at the same time too and went utterly still for a moment. The truth was that James probably didn't care if anyone had seen them, but he knew Scorpius cared. James turned quickly to grab the marauders map. Who ever had seen them would still be in the tunnel, and they had to know who it was. "Oh...bugger..." James muttered.

Scorpius grabbed the map out of James's hands, his heart racing now for different and less enjoyable reasons. His eyes traced over the castle map, finding their passage, trying to find the name besides their own. There, in the scrawling print, just now reaching the painting entrance back into the castle was the one name, above all others, that Scorpius didn't want to see on the map. His stomach gave a horrible, sickening lurch. It didn't matter that Rose Weasley knew his secret. It didn't matter that Rose would never tell Albus what she knew. The name on the map made everything else inconsequential.

"Albus Severus Potter."

x x x

So that ends chapter 1. Chapter 2 is written and being beta'd, and chapter 3 is already partially written, so it shouldn't be a long wait for them. Reviews are always appreciated. :)


	2. Chapter 2

The Problem with Potters

Chapter 2(/3)

A/N: I'd like to thank you all for being so patient for Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is nearly finished, so hopefully it won't be such a long wait.

Once again, a big thank you to my boyfriend for the betaing, brain storing, and editing help.

Thank ya'll for reading.

. . .

. . .

Scorpius was a nervous, jittery wreck. He didn't know what to do. He didn't think he could stand to face Albus about what he had seen, at least not right away. It wasn't fair. Albus was supposed to spend the morning at Quiditch practice! His match against Hufflepuff was two days away. Why the boy had been sneaking out of the castle to Hogsmead instead of running drills or whatever was a complete mystery to him. Now Albus knew about him and James, and how was he supposed to deal with that?

He had spent the majority of the day hiding in the Astronomy tower after leaving James. After seeing Albus' name on the map all he could think of was needing to breathe. Panic set in. He had told James that he needed to go in a rush, bolting down the corridor, hoping to find some solitude in which to panic.

Now, with curfew quickly approaching, he was hoping he could get into bed and feign sleep before he ran into Albus. All he wanted was to avoid the impending conversation that he knew was coming; The questions, the allegations. He wanted, no needed, to avoid Albus if he could.

He had no such luck though. When Scorpius slipped into the Slytherin common room, Albus was sitting in one of the high back leather chairs by the fireplace, idly chewing on the end of a quill as he looked over one of his text books. Scorpius felt a sickening jolt in his stomach.

Albus was beautiful. His hair was soft and brown, catching the fire light. He had that intent but soft look on his face; the fantastic determination that made him a Slytherin in the first place was etched into his green eyes. Then those green eyes looked up into his own.

"Oh, hey Scorpius."

"Albus," Scorpius felt his heart twist. Here it came; the accusations, the questions, the stumbling to explain himself. He had no idea what he was going to say or how Albus would react. Would he be angry with him, or disgusted or even...jealous, maybe? Albus closed his book and slid his quill behind his ear. Scorpius looked at his feet, trying to remember how to breath.

"I think..." there was an odd pause, as though Albus was rethinking what he was about to say. "I'm going to go to bed," Albus said with a yawn. "See you in the morning, ok?" He stood up, flashed Scorpius one of his heartbreaking smiles and went off towards their dormitory.

He hadn't expected that. Scorpius stared after Albus for a few moments, feeling stunned. He was shaken by it. Scorpius counted himself lucky for the moment though. He was in no emotional state to deal with this so suddenly. Preparing himself to deal with the conversation in the morning, he made his way to bed as well.

. . .

Scorpius was going insane. All day long Scorpius kept expecting Albus to say something, anything, about him and James, but he never did. Every now and then Scorpius would notice Albus staring at him with an odd look on his face and Scorpius's pulse would race out of control, but still Albus didn't say anything. The anticipation of Albus mentioning _it_ was turning him into a nervous wreck.

He was barely even bothered when Melody came over and sat with them at lunch, chattering happily about how she could barely wait to see Albus play the next day. He wasn't even excited that they were finally done with the Fanged Geraniums and got to move on to less horrible plants in Herbology. Scorpius simply couldn't stop thinking about Albus's name on the Marauder's Map, and what exactly his friend had seen him doing with James.

Every time Albus would turn and say his name, Scorpius expected the worst, but it never was. It was always "Scorpius, pass me a quill," or "Scorpius, we should study together in the library after Potions."

Even when Albus wasn't around, the tension hung around Scorpius like an oppressive haze. During third period, when Scorpius had Runes and Albus took Divination, and they had the bulk of the school separating them, Scorpius still felt like at any moment his heart was going to simply give up from the anxiety and he would die.

Rose, who found Runes a far more useful subject than Divination like him, kept giving him odd concerned looks. He could tell that she knew something was up, but blissfully had the tact not to ask him about it. He could feel her curiosity burning into him though.

She didn't say anything until they were packing up for Potions. "So, what are you doing during your study period, Scorpius?" she asked.

"Homework in the Library with Albus," Scorpius replied, dreading it. Alone, with Albus, and all that silence.

"You sound rather...unenthusiastic about that," Rose pointed out.

Scorpius only grunted in reply. He was not so desperate as to go running to a Weasley for help yet.

"Well, whatever is going on, get it sorted out. Your runes work was awful today," Rose told him and headed down the corridor with a determined snap in her step.

. . .

Finally, in the Library, Scorpius lost it. Rose was right. He had to settle this. He couldn't bear is any longer.

The two of them were sitting at one of the large oak tables in the Herbology section, trying to make some progress on their homework for Professor Longbottom. The silence between them was deafening. Over his copy of _Dangerous Daffodils and other malignant plants_ Scorpius couldn't help but notice Albus glancing at him every few minutes. Finally he closed the book with a snap and looked right into those gorgeous green eyes.

"When are you going to say something about me and James?"

"Sorry, what?" Albus blinked a few times, taken off guard by the sudden question.

"You saw us, Albus. I saw you on the map. So why aren't you saying anything?" Scorpius asked, bracing himself for the conversation. As bad as this was going to be, he knew he couldn't handle not talking about it another day.

"I...didn't realize you knew I had seen you," Albus said softly, putting his quill down. He looked guilty. "I figured that you didn't want me to know."

"I didn't," Scorpius said softly.

"Why not?"

"I..." He didn't want Albus to know because he was in love with him. Albus haunted his thoughts and desires, but he could never admit it. Before he could stammer out some kind of excuse, Albus interrupted.

"Scorp, it's cool you know. I don't care," Albus said and gave one of those Earth-shattering smiles.

"You don't..." Scorpius started to say, his heart clenching. Scorpius wanted Albus to care. This was important, wasn't it? Scorpius sure as hell cared when Albus started seeing Melody Longbottom.

"Of course not. Scorpius, you're my best friend. If you and James are dating, that's fine by me." Albus gave a small chuckle.

"We're not dating," Scorpius said quickly. It wasn't a relationship. They just fooled around with each other from time to time, after all. No, they weren't dating. It was Albus he loved. Albus.

"Oh, come on. Look, I know James likes blokes, and I figured you probably did too. It's not a big deal."

"But we're not dating," Scorpius protested.

"It's fine. I really don't mind. I'm happy for you. You're much better than some of the blokes James has seen in the past. Remember when he was seeing Timothy Nott? Really, I'm much happier he's with you," Albus reached across the table and took Scorpius's hand. Scorpius felt his heart twist. Albus's hand was so warm against his own, his green eyes so full of sincerity. Albus really didn't care.

"It's not like that Albus. We're just...I don't know. But not dating." He had to make Albus understand somehow. He didn't want Albus to think that he was with James. He didn't want Albus to just not care. Albus was supposed to care. His thoughts felt disconnected and jumbled up. A deep part of him had wanted Albus to be upset, to be bothered by the idea of Scorpius and James together, to be jealous. Albus wasn't. He knew his thoughts were hopelessly tangled, repeating themselves, inelegant and confusing, and dammit it was Albus' fault.

"Scorpius, I really don't care you know. This doesn't change anything. You really could have just told me," Albus said gently.

"Albus..." Scorpius was interrupted by the school bell chiming the hour.

"Bugger, look at the time. I told Melody I'd go over her charms essay before dinner. I'll see you then, ok?" Albus said and let go of Scorpius's hand. He stood up, gathering his things.

"Albus, wait just a-" Scorpius said, standing up. He wanted to reach out and grab the boy, to make him understand, to stop this from happening.

"I'm sorry I have to dash. We can talk more tonight. But remember, no matter what, you'll always be my best friend." Albus gave a small wave, and another heart wrenching smile and disappeared around the bookshelf.

Scorpius was so frustrated he thought he might cry. No matter what, Scorpius would be his best friend. Never more than that. Scorpius knew that Albus was being kind. He was trying to comfort Scorpius, but Scorpius could only hear those words and feel all his silly, stupid dreams crumbling around him. Albus wasn't going to dump his girlfriend for him. Albus wasn't going to wake up one morning and say 'what the hell, why not?' and give Scorpius a chance with him. Albus would forever be his best friend and never, ever anything else. Scorpius felt like an idiot.

He took a moment to sit at the table, staring blankly at his books. Everything was happening too quickly. He had to slow this down some how. One deep breath.

Another deep breath.

Malfoys had to control their emotions. Malfoys had to be poised, and socially mobile. Scorpius ran his hands through his hair once as he stuffed down the urge to scream so that he could face the world again. He had to look normal while he fled somewhere private where he could try to deal with this.

Scorpius grabbed his books and took one more deep, shaky breath before turning to leave the library by the opposite doors that Albus had gone through. He had to get some air, so he decided on heading to the lake shore. He was thinking how things couldn't get any worse, just moments before they did.

He turned the corner around the first bookshelf and came face to face with James.

The older boy was leaning against the shelf, his back pressed against the books that had been separating him from Scorpius and Albus's conversation. It was clear from his expression that he had heard every word.

"James..." Scorpius froze. He could feel the blood drain from his face. "Did you...were you eavesdropping?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." James' voice was low and tight, like he was choking on his words. Scorpius felt his stomach drop. "I hadn't seen you all day, but then you and Al were talking so..." James trailed off. He was staring at his feet, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

"I...oh..."

"You love him, don't you? You're in love with Albus." James looked up, his brown eyes tinted with some terrible pain. Scorpius felt his heart stop. No, he thought horribly. Not this.

"...James..."

"That's why you didn't want him to know," James chewed on the words like they were bitter and tacky between his teeth. "So, if we aren't dating, Scorpius, what exactly are we?" There was a painful pause. "If it's my brother you want, then what exactly am I to you?"

"I just..." Scorpius felt his words die in his throat as he saw the pinprick tears forming in the corner of James's eyes. It had never occurred to Scorpius that maybe James really took their...relationship seriously, that the older boy held deep affections for him. For the second time in five minutes, Scorpius felt like a complete idiot.

What kind of asshole was he?

"Tell me Scorpius! Has there ever been anything real with us, or have I always been playing stand in for Al?" James spat. A single angry tear rolled down his flushed cheeks.

"James...I just..."

"No...no I can't listen to this. I'm sorry. I have to go," James said. Scorpius noticed the way the older boy's hands trembled slightly as he spoke.

"James, please..."

"Just...leave me alone until you have an answer." James pushed past him before Scorpius could think of anything to say, and he was left feeling like the world's crappiest person. He couldn't even think about going to the lake anymore and risk running into any more Potter-Weasleys. Instead he decided he would crawl into his bed and try to sleep away the heart break and guilt that rolled through him.

. . .

It was the day of the Slytherin/Hufflepuff Quidditch match and Scorpius didn't know whether or not to go. He was sitting behind the green houses, his Charms book open to a review while he idly levitated pebbles with his wand and hated himself.

James Sirius Potter loved him. Albus Severus Potter would never love him. He, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, was a complete arse.

He sat in miserable silence, making the pebbles slowly crash into each other in midair, wishing he had a time turner so he could go back and make this situation less awful. He kept imagining Albus's face, that gentle smile telling him that he just didn't care.

Then there was James with that hurt in his eyes, and that was even worse. He had somehow managed to hurt James Sirius Potter, the hurricane of laughter and good will. He didn't want James to hurt.

"Hello, Scorpius." Scorpius looked up to see Hugo Weasley. Hugo was Rose's little brother and Ron and Hermione Weasley's son. A third year, and the first Weasley to be sorted into Hufflepuff, he was an unusually quiet child for his family. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, fellow Hufflepuffs and fourth years, stood behind Hugo, looking at Scorpius with slightly concerned expressions.

Lorcan and Lysander were twins, the sons of Rolf and Luna Lovegood-Scamander. They had apparently spent their childhood traveling the world with their magizoologist, slightly insane parents, discovering and studying creatures once relegated only to myth. Their father was a bright eyed, loud, Greek man who Scorpius had only seen once at the train station, standing next to the twins' dreamy, odd mother. Lorcan and Lysander had inherited their dad's wild black curly hair, and their mom's pale skin that never seemed to tan (even though Lorcan played Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.) The only way Scorpius could really tell them apart was when Lorcan wore his Quidditch robes, like today. With his match only an hour away, Scorpius wondered by Lorcan was out on the grounds, rather than with his team. Albus had disappeared in the early morning to prepare for the match.

Scorpius tried not to groan. He liked Hugo well enough. Even Lorcan and Lysander seemed pretty nice, but Scorpius was in no mood to be friendly.

"Hello, Hugo," Scorpius said, letting the pebbles fall to the ground. "Lysander. Lorcan. Don't you have a Quidditch game to go to?" he asked the last boy, wondering if maybe he could get the unwanted trio to leave him in peace. He wasn't in the mood for talking, especially not with a gaggle of Hufflepuffs. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the house, really. Hufflepuffs were just so...social.

"Just about to head over there," Lorcan said with a smile at the older boy. "We were wondering if you were coming."

"And why you look so glum," Lysander added after his brother.

"Sorry if we interrupted your thoughts," Hugo said with a soft blush on his cheeks. He, like his father, was painfully ginger and the blush made him look nearly sunburned. "It's just...you do look upset, you see. I just thought-"

"It's ok Hugo," Scorpius sighed. He wanted to be annoyed with Hugo, and to continue sitting in his not-very-good-after-all hiding spot feeling sorry for himself, but he just didn't have to heart to be mean to the kid. Hugo always seemed a little bit worried that someone was just going to reach over and knock him on the head. "I don't think I'm going to the match."

"Why not?" Hugo asked, frowning slightly. "Is everything ok?"

"It's...complicated Hugo. I don't want to talk about it." How could he even begin to talk about this mess from scratch? How could he explain his pain over Abus, his pain over James? Merlin, James. His heart clenched thinking about it again.

The three boys looked at each over quickly, like some unspoken conversation. Scorpius felt a growing sense of dread. Hufflepuffs could never leave well enough alone. Lysander put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Go on to the game. We'll take care of this."

Lorcan gave a laugh and ruffled his brother's hair. "Ok. Wish me luck!" he said and jogged off towards the Quidditch pitch.

"Now, to see to our darling Slytherin friend," Lysander said with a smile.

Hugo held out his hand to Scorpius. "Come on. Let's take you to the kitchens. Relax a little."

"Hufflepuffs..." Scorpius muttered. "Always with the kitchens,"

"Come on," Hugo said softly. "Please? You don't have to talk about what's bothering you. Just come along."

Scropius gave a small sigh. There was no escaping this now, he knew. If he stayed here, Hugo would no doubt go tell his sister that he was moping around, and then he'd have to deal with Rose. Enduring the unwanted cheering-up services of a few Hufflepuffs would be easier than trying to talk to Rose Weasley about the mess he had gotten himself into. What could he possibly say to Rose anyway? There was nothing anyone could do to make this better. He reached up and took Hugo's hand and allowed himself to be lead away to the kitchens.

Scorpius had gone to the kitchens a few times before with Albus to get extra snacks from the elves that adored all the Weasley-Potter children. Remembering those times, watching Albus chatter happily with the house elves while his hair caught the fire light made Scorpius's stomach lurch.

At the moment the kitchens were strangely quiet. The elves had finished cleaning up after breakfast, and the Post-Quidditch lunch feast hadn't begun yet, so when Hugo, Lysander and he entered the kitchens dozens of giant orb shaped eyes turned to them.

"Master Weasley!" one of the tiny elves cried out and scampered over to him. Scorpius thought its name was Dinky or Ditzy or something like that, but he could never keep them all straight. "Would you like some cookies, sir?" All the elves loved the Potter-Weasley kids, but they seemed to favor the Potters, and Rose and Hugo above all the others. The children of the great heroes Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and the lovely Hermione were favored above all else.

"Thanks Daisy," Hugo said with a soft smile. So it was a girl elf. Scorpius really couldn't tell. "We'd love some cupcakes if you have any."

Cupcakes. Typical Hufflepuff food. The higher the frosting to cake ratio the better. "Could you two be any more cliché Hufflepuffs?" Scorpius asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was almost amused. "I mean, really? Cupcakes?"

Hugo grinned. "Hey. It's cake in a cup, what more could one ask for? Cupcakes are the perfect stress-relief food."

"Yes, indeed. Our stress-relief may make us rather hungry and it's important to have food around when that happens," Lysander added with a laugh and sat himself down in one of the tiny elf sized chairs. Hugo sat on the floor next to him, preferring the stone to the too-tiny stool. Scorpius decided to sit on the floor next to Hugo, his knees pulled up to his chest. He had a vague idea what Hufflepuff stress-relief involved, but it was hard to imagine Rose's 3rd year brother indulging.

Sure enough though, while Daisy and the other elves scampered off to bake some cupcakes, Lysander reached into one of the small pockets of his book bag and pulled out a small velvet pouch and poured out a few tiny golden vials. "Cheering potions," Lysander said with a smirk to Scorpius. "Nothing turns a frown upside down quicker."

"Where did you get that?" Scorpius asked. Mood-altering potions were, of course, strictly banned from the school unless provided by the school nurse, and then they were given out very carefully. Most were just a diluted form of luck potions or calming brews. When the students learned how to brew luck or calming potions in class they weren't allowed to keep any and the quantity was carefully watched to make sure none was nicked. Those tricky little potions made you feel great, but it was often hard to focus on class if you had just taken one. Plus the come down could be difficult, so it was in the school's interest to keep the students from having unsupervised access to them.

Scorpius had only tried it once when the older Slytherin's managed to get a hold of some and Albus had wanted to try. He didn't even know how to get any if he wanted some, short of trying to brew one himself with ingredients he would have to steal. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that it was the Hufflepuffs who had it. If anyone would have connections, it would be the Hufflepuffs. Slytherins generally stuck to contraband fire whiskey, and left the more inventive avenues of insobriety up to their classmates.

Hugo flushed slightly and cleared his throat. "My cousin, Freddie, got it for us. He um..brews them. Mostly for his dad, but there's always extra so..." Well that explained it. Freddie Weasley always was a bit of a rebel, with his spiky hair and wicked grin. Brewing mood potions to sell to his still in school cousins? Figures.

Lysander was holding out one of the tiny vials to him. Scorpius took it carefully. Malfoys were not above rule breaking, nor were they immune from using substances. His grandfather basically lived off of expensive gin and whiskey after the war, and it wasn't even like Scorpius hadn't tried them before. But mood potions were such a...Hufflepuff thing to do. Last time he had taken one he had felt rather silly, and it didn't do well to feel overly silly.

But Hugo and Lysander were already knocking theirs back, dreamy blissful looks spreading across their faces. Scorpius had allowed himself to be dragged down here, so why not? He felt perfectly miserable, thinking about Albus and James. Maybe a little cheer was what he needed. Besides, he couldn't very well back out if Rose Weasley's little brother was going to show him up otherwise.

Scorpius drank the little potion quickly and let the euphoria slowly settle over him. His thoughts got a little fuzzy around the edges, basking him in a warm buttery glow. He let out a breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding. Hugo let out a goofy sounding giggle next to him, which made Lysander start to laugh which in turn, of course, made Scorpius start to laugh too. That quirky little potion seemed to loosen the sickening knot inside his stomach, letting him smile again.

"There, you look better already!" Lysander said happily, grinning at Scorpius when his giggles subsided. "Much, much better,"

"Oh I'm glad I'm here and not at the rotten Quidditch game," Scorpius said, closing his eyes. He felt so distracted by the warm humming in his brain that he barely focused on what he was saying. "I think I would have gone loony if I had tried to go." He sighed.

"So what...what is bothering you?" Hugo asked, looking over at the blond boy with a lopsided kind of smile. "Normally you like Quidditch games, don't you?"

Scorpius felt as though his head was full of a warm delightful mist, and it made it very hard to remember how to lie. "Oh yes. Normally. All those blokes in their Quidditch gear. Bloody hell, I do like it."

"So why not today?" Lysander asked. Both of them were watching him closely, big grins on their faces.

"It's...complicated," Scorpius sighed. "Personal, ya know?" The other two continued to stare at him. "It's...I sort of got dumped. I...you said I didn't have to talk about it," he gave an uncomfortable 'mph' and tried to get more comfortable on the stone floor. The whole situation seemed ridiculous now, him loving Albus, James loving him, and his growing sexual frustration over the complete and utter lack of James. James had, understandably, been avoiding him since their encounter in the library.

"You, don't man, you don't. It's cool," Lysander said just as Daisy the house elf ran up with a plate of warm cupcakes. Lysander and Hugo were instantly distracted by the warm pastries, giving Scorpius a few moments to wade through his cloudy thoughts uninterrupted until a cupcake was shoved into his hand. "Munch," Lysander ordered happily.

Scorpius took a bite of the small chocolate cupcake and then even his cloudy mish-mashed thoughts were lost under overwhelming bliss that was _cupcake_. They tasted even better than normal. The sweet chocolate greatly helped his mood.

"You know what I think?" Lysander said, chocolate icing smeared on his face. "You probably need to jerk off."

"I...what?" Scorpius said, unable to stop himself from laughing and blushing and hiding himself in his cupcake. Scorpius had masturbated before, but not since he and James had begun their...relationship (it really was a relationship, wasn't it? Not a good one, not a functional one, but it was one. Bugger.) Slytherins didn't just talk about that sort of thing though! In fact, civilized people didn't just talk about that sort of thing. It was improper, and rather...carnal. It might not, he conceded, be that bad of an idea though.

"No, no, I mean it. You got dumped. You're all tense. It's whatever." Lysander said. "Some alone time, ya know?"

"Hufflepuffs. You're insane," Scorpius said and licked the icing off his fingers. "But, if nothing else, I do feel better now. So...thank you for that," he said softly. The sweets and the mood potion simmered through him, soothing him, letting his mind wander freer than usual. Maybe some alone time when he was done here with Hugo and Lysander wouldn't be such a bad idea. Especially since, win or lose, his housemates would be busy in their post-game fervor in the common room and he'd have even more privacy than normal in the dorms themselves.

. . .

Scorpius was laying in his bed as the last of the mood potion ebbed from his veins. The Quidditch match had ended roughly an hour earlier, though who had won, he couldn't tell. His housemates were having their traditional post-game party. If they won, it would be a celebration. If they had lost, it was a reconciliation and a comfort.

The Slytherin dorms were set up like a ten leafed clover. The spiral staircase from the common room dropped out into the middle common space of the dorms, and each student had a small alcove connected to the central space, partitioned off by a heavy dark green curtain. Each alcove had just enough room for a bed, a trunk and a reading table. James had called them spoiled when he heard about their set up. Gryffindor boys had less privacy in their dorm apparently.

Scorpius had his curtain closed with a slight sound dampening charm on it. He stared up at the stone ceiling, thinking about all the tons of water that was over his head. What an odd man Salazar Slytherin must have been, to put his common room under the lake itself. Any thought besides that skittered out of Scorpius's mind with the last of the potion. He felt antsy now, jittery again.

Albus. James. The two potter boys, one he loved and the other loved him and he had got and mucked everything up and he had gone days without any kind of sexual relief. Surely between his hormones and his emotional turmoil, this would kill him.

Maybe some alone time, some...personal time, would help him relax more. With all his other problems, sexual frustration was only going to make things worse. Hufflepuffs were a bit crass but they weren't stupid.

"Accio _Broomsticks and Bludgers_," Scorpius said under his breath with the flick of his wand. A rather worn looking magazine flopped onto his bed in front of him from it's hiding spot underneath his trunk. Scorpius had procured it in his third year from an older Ravenclaw boy with a galleon and a chocolate frog. The glossy photos showed smirking, well-toned but never bulky men in nothing but open Quidditch robes, sitting on broomsticks and other tantalizing poses. They all smirked up at Scorpius, their faces cocky, so assured of their own gorgeousness.

The magazine naturally opened to his preferred page, near the middle. The cursive writing proudly proclaimed that he was Sarin the Seeker, and it had always been Scorpius's favorite. Sarin (which of course, wouldn't be the man's real name) was stretched out on a Quidditch locker room bench, his deep purple robes hanging loose off his shoulders. Freckles and green eyes. He had a snitch tattoo and fluttered around his chest and groin area teasingly. He was reclined back, his eyes half lidded and dreamy while he slowly ran his tongue over a golden snitch and smirked up at Scorpius. The picture never failed to make Scorpius hard.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Scorpius said, staring down at the magazine. The photo chuckled and raised his eye brows in reply. His snitch tattoo was fluttering right over his solar plexus, drifting down towards the photo's permanent exposed erection.

Masturbation was such an inelegant way of dealing with the problem of teenage hormones, but with how things were with James at the moment, it wasn't like he had a lot of options. At least, he consoled himself rather pathetically, _Broomsticks and Bludgers_ would never be upset at him, no matter how badly he messed things up.

Just one more charm, designed to keep liquids from spilling during potion brewing or cooking that would collect any spilled fluids into a small floating bubble until it could be cleaned up, just to stop things from getting messy and he was ready. He didn't want to risk messing up his nice sheets after all. Flick of the wand and he had the magazine floating above the bed where he would be able to look at it comfortably hands free.

He looked up at the magazine again as he undid his robes and pants. His cock was already stiff as he pulled it out of his pants, and getting stiffer as he stared up at the dirty mag. He pulled his pants down to his knees, the cold air prickling at his skin. The man who shared Albus's most notable, most tantalizing features smirked down at him from the page, running his tongue over the snitch in his hand. Scorpius wrapped his fingers around his shaft and began to stroke himself slowly.

As the sensation began to build with the stimulation in his foreskin, inevitably his eyes slipped closed as his own personal fantasy replaced the smirking porn star above him. Green eyes, that's how it always starts. Soft summer green eyes with the tiny flecks of brown and gold and Scorpius let out a small moan, precum leaking from the tip of his cock.

Freckles, splattered along the ridge of his nose and soft brown hair that frames his face flitted through Scorpius's mind. Merlin's beard he needed this. He stroked his shaft faster, trying to build the friction and the heat, letting out a soft sigh. Each stroke brought another small moan from his lips, and he was glad for the silencing charm on his curtains.

Quidditch robes framing a well toned chest. Nimble fingers and a mellifluous laugh. Each new detail made his cock even stiffer under his own touch. Scorpius bit his lower lip lightly, the tendrils of pleasure creeping up his spine as he touched himself.

That smirk that tugged up the left side of his face. Tanned skin and rough fingers. Merlin, he was already so close. The sexual frustration had pushed him right to the edge as his thoughts wandered more and more, driving him insane. Normally he could last much longer than this, but normally he hadn't gone several days without release.

The way that wild black hair slid across his skin. Deep brown eyes that glowed in the dim light. Moist kisses and hot skin. Scorpius was panting hard now, so close to an orgasm. "J...James..."

The sound of his own voice surprised Scorpius, but he couldn't stop stroking himself. It was James. Somewhere along the way, Albus had shifted into his older brother. James kissing him, the rough pads of his fingers on Scorpius's skin, smirking at him with that gleam in his eyes, smiling at him like Scorpius was somehow damn beautiful.

Fuck. "James..." Scorpius breathed again, as finally the stimulation in his cock was too much and he came, shaking and gasping for air. His vision swam slightly as every muscle in his body tensed up, his cock pulsing as he ejaculated.

"Shit..." Scorpius breathed, going limp on his sheets. The cleaning spell was taking care of things nicely, gathering his cum into a convenient little ball that hovered next to the bed until he had the energy to deal with it. Little shivers of pleasure ran through him as the last waves of his orgasm began to fade.

James. He had been thinking about James. Beautiful James, who he had hurt so badly.

"No...no, no...it's supposed to be Albus..." Scorpius muttered miserably. Why, in Salazar's name, had his mind traveled to James? He was supposed to want Albus. James was just for convenience. Right? As soon as he thought that though, a sharp wave of grief flooded through him. How could he think that about James?

Pitifully he sent the cleaning spell into the trash can, shoved his magazine under his pillow, rolled on his stomach and wondered, horribly, how the scion of the Malfoy name had allowed himself to get so screwed up inside. He buried his head in his pillow, thinking of both the Potter boys, and wishing for all he was worth that he had another cheering potion so he wouldn't be faced with these thoughts alone.

. . .

Reviews are always appreciated! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3(/3)

A/N: The Final Chapter.

Thank you to everyone who's read this far.

. . .

Maybe it was a good thing that Rose knew about James and him after all. He needed someone to talk to; someone to try and sort out the muddle in his head with, and it was easier to not start from scratch. She already knew about James and probably suspected about Albus. Plus, Rose had the added benefit of being one of the more rational and reasonable people that Scorpius knew.

Scorpius felt a small measure of shame going to the Weasley girl for advice. Malfoys are meant to be self-reliant, putting weight in well bought favors rather than friendly charity. The world had changed however. So help from Rose Weasley it had to be.

Scorpius found her in one of the study hall rooms, mercifully alone. It took only a second to explain to her how Albus had seen him and James, how James had seen his deny their relationship to Albus, and the fight that followed. Rose handled the news fairly well, all things considered. True she slapped him, hard across the face, but it was a bloodless outburst, which was better than expected. Weasley's protected their own first. Scorpius counted himself thankful that she didn't hex him.

"Well that certainly explains why James has been acting like someone died the last few days," she spat and rubbed her hand idly.

"It's more complicated that just that though," Scorpius said. He hoped she wouldn't hit him again. "I...need some advice Rose, and you're the closest thing I have to a best friend who can help with this right now."

"An inspiring display of affection from the great Malfoy, I'm sure." Rose sat back down at the table and turned to her essay, away from Scorpius.

"Rose?" Scorpius voice was oddly strained. He had barely slept that night, and every dream he had was about the Potter boys. Albus shifting into James, James shifting into Albus. Each dream had left him even more twisted up and confused. He barely knew what he wanted, much less how to get it. He had to tell someone, or he was going to have a stroke.

"Oh Merlin's beard. Fine," Rose said and set her book to the side and her quill into her bushy hair. "What, exactly, is your issue, Scorpius?"

This was the hard part. Scorpius had spent the better part of his morning trying to find the right way to put his thoughts into words.

"James is right to be angry with me," Scorpius began, sinking into the seat next to Rose. "When things started with him, it was only because I couldn't have Albus," Rose gave a small growl at that, but Scorpius press on. "But now James is gone, and I can't stop thinking about him." Scorpius paused there, staring at his hands. "All I want is to have him back." He bit down the shame that bubbled up in his throat. "I feel like I was using James, but now I've lost him and...it really hurts, Rose." There was a long moment of silence.

"Is it hard? Loving someone who loves you?" She asked. "It's much easier to love someone who doesn't, I've always thought," Rose said softly. Scorpius wondered quietly who it was that Rose was in love with. He had really never paid her enough attention to even begin to guess. He was an asshole.

Scorpius looked up at her. "I feel like an idiot. I should have realized sooner that I...I don't know if James will ever forgive me for this."

"And Albus, then?" Rose asked.

Scorpius ran his hands through his hair. "He's my best mate," Scorpius said. "But I can't spend my life pining after my best mate."

"And is James just a fall back now?"

"No. No," Scorpius shook his head, his hands still in his hands. "I thought he was. He's not. I...I wouldn't miss him this badly if he was. I would dream about him like this if he was," Scorpius said miserably.

"What do you really want from him, Scorpius?" Rose asked. "The way James stares at you...I think he'd forgive just about anything if it meant having you, even if it hurts him more in the end."

Scorpius shook his head and stared at his hands. He didn't know how to answer that. Finally he looked up at Rose and said, "I want whatever it takes to prove to him that I...mean this. I want him back. How do I do that?"

"Scorpius, do you know how many boyfriends I've had?" Rose asked. "Zero." She sounded a little bitter as she said it. " I'm not exactly an expert on these things. If I had to give you a suggestion though, it would to be honest with him. Disregard your pride long enough to make him understand."

"But how?" Scorpius sad, finally looking up at Rose.

"Do something unexpected? Something drastic maybe? I don't know," Rose began to put her books back in her bag and stood up. "That's all I can offer. Good luck." With that Rose left him alone with his thoughts.

. . .

Scorpius sat on the cold tiles of the Prefects' bathroom, breathing in the warm misty fog that filled the room. The swimming-pool-sized bath tub was slowly filling up behind him as he stared into one of the massive floor to ceiling mirrors. He always thought best in the bath. He would wait patiently, thinking, until he could actually soak in the hot water.

In truth, Scorpius had no business being in the Prefects bathroom, especially without James there to give him even the illusion of legitimacy. Scorpius was long past the point of worrying about that kind of thing though. James had told him the password months ago, and it seemed like it hardly ever got changed. He had more important things to work out in his mind than the pros and cons of using a bathroom despite not having the proper permission too.

Something unexpected and something drastic. Well, one thing came to mind. It seemed rather stupid, but it would be a change. Maybe that was what he needed. To do something stupid, some physical reminder of his resolve.

"Um...Myrtle, are you there?"

Moaning Myrtle had always been fond of Scorpius' father, and so she was fond of him. Scorpius did not return that affection, however. Myrtle grated on his nerves and on his ears, but he was desperate so he was out of options.

"Oooo Scorpius," Mrytle sprung out of one of the bath taps, giggling in that awful way what sounded as though her voice got stuck in her nose. "Where is that hunk of a boy, James?"

Scorpius gave a small groan. He did not want to imagine Myrtle watching him and James' previous endeavors in the bathroom. He was afraid to ask whether or not she had. "James isn't here. Look, I need a small favor," he said.

"Oh?" The girl gave another nasally giggle. "And what is that?"

"I'm...going to cut my hair," Scorpius said. "I just need another pair of eyes to make sure I don't give myself any bald patches or anything," he explained. He was fairly good at shearing spells, but he'd never done anything like this before. He always had house elves to trim his hair when it needed doing. None of the Hogwarts elves would be any real help though. Skilled as they were with making cupcakes, he doubted they were much good with hair cuts. They were all bald after all, and hadn't been trained to cut human hair.

So he would have to do this on his own. It felt important, like a promise to himself. He would cut his hair, and make things right with James. If he cut his hair then no one could say that he was just throwing words around. It would show commitment. Sincerity. He knew he must sound crazy, but he had barely slept for days and he FELT crazy.

"Oh poo poo. I like your hair," Myrtle crooned.

"Just...stop me if I'm about to take a chunk out of my head, ok?" He sighed and got his wand ready to do something unexpected and drastic.

. . .

All things considered, Scorpius rather liked his haircut. He looked like a young version of his father, which was odd, and the breeze on the back of his neck would take some getting used to, but he felt well...brave. Resolved in his action. He couldn't just spend the rest of the year until James graduated hiding in his dorm room. No, he was going to make James understand.

That resolve didn't stop him from feeling horribly nervous though. Every kid in school had to stop and stare at him as he walked past. A thousand pairs of eyes seemed to follow him as he made his way down to the lakeside where he hoped he would find James.

He guessed correctly it turned out. James, as well as most of his family, was spending the Saturday lounging out in the sun. Roxie was the closest to him and appeared to be tinkering with the puzzle her father had sent her again. She still hadn't managed to solve it. Lily and Hugo had their backs against the tree, eating a plate of cupcakes that Hugo had no doubt gotten from the elves, while Rose went over homework.

Scorpius nearly backed out when he saw Albus and Melody sitting next to each other, chatting with James in a patch of sunlight right by the lake. The breeze on the back f his neck reminded Scorpius that he could do this, even if every step towards the Potter-Weasleys felt like walking through lead.

"Scorpius! Your hair!" Roxie was the first one to notice him, and let out a distressed cry at his new hair cut. The rest of the family quickly turned to see what the fuss was about.

"Bugger. The Thoroughbred has lost his mane..." Lily gasped, her snarkiness unabated by the unusual circumstances.

James made fleeting eye contact with Scorpius before looking away. It was Albus, always the good friend, who moved to his feet though to face him, his eyes running over Scorpius. "S...Scorpius...your hair..." Scorpius' heart gave a little tug. The last time he had seen the Potter boys Al had unintentionally crushed his heart and James had been on the verge of tears, heartbroken at what Scorpius had done to him.

"Hi James," Scorpius cleared his throat and looked at the others. "Um, Albus. Melody. Everyone." He walked up to James, past several of his family members. He was the one who he had come to see. Albus, who had already stood up, seemed to understand and settled back down on the ground next to Melody.

"Hi," James said softly and stood up, taking a few steps toward Scorpius. They were still in plain earshot of everyone. "Um...your hair?" He said like he was in shock over it. Scorpius hoped that James would be able to focus on what he had to say instead of just his stupid hair cut for at least five minutes.

"Yeah, I'll get to that. James, can we talk?" Scorpius said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He was trying to ignore his audience as best he could. He felt hyper-aware of Rose and Albus staring at him.

"Oh..." James seemed a little shaken by that. "Yeah, sure. Do you want to go somewhere...more private? I know you don't like to talk about personal...stuff...around," James glanced over at Albus, "family." Scorpius gave a small smile at that. James was too sweet. Merlin, how had Scorpius gone so long without seeing that? Still, seeing James so anxious was painful. Scorpius was so used to James being confidant and cocky, that this nervous, heartbroken James was almost too much to deal with.

"No, it's ok," Scorpius said softly. "I...I don't care if they hear. I want people to know. I don't want to hide anymore." He took a deep breath, really focusing on James. He couldn't think about Albus and Rose and everyone watching, but he knew it was important that he was open about this now. He didn't want James to think he was ashamed of him anymore.

"James, I...wasn't fair to you," Scorpius began. "I..." This was harder than he had imagined. It was so hard to find the words he needed. "I wasn't...honest...with you about everything...about my...uh...feelings." He could hear the Potter-Weasleys shift around him, no doubt listening to every word.

"Yeah, but it's fine I understand-" James looked away, the pain so clear in his eyes. He took a small step back, clearly wishing he wasn't there. That by itself nearly broke Scorpius' heart.

"No, no, James," Scorpius said quickly, moving forward to grab the front of James' robes. "Please. I wasn't honest with myself either. I...I took you for granted. I'm an asshole," He said his hands shaking slightly. "But then not having you...I've been going mad James. You're all I think about. It feels like I'm drowning without you. I...does that make any sense? I...I need you here."

James stared down at him for a few seconds, the smallest hint of hope, still laced with pain, glimmering in his eyes. "So you...want things the way they were?" he asked softly. Sunlight reflected off the lake, throwing ribbons of light into James' hair.

"No. No...James. I don't want things to go back to the way they were," Scorpius replied softly. "I just want...you," Scorpius said softly. "Really, this time. I want...you."

"I don't underst-" James shook his head.

"Dammit James. I love you." Scorpius felt breathless as the words finally left him.

"You..." James' eyes began to light up for real; full of doubt, but also so much unbearable hope. "You love me?"

"I do," Scorpius said softly. Everything else had melted away. The lake, the people, everything. For a moment, it was just him and James.

"I...really?"

"I know I'm an asshole. I...I'm sorry it took all this for me to figure it out." Scorpius bowed his head. "But, I mean it...can you forgive me?"

James let out a laugh. He looked like happiness was going to burst through him at the seams. "How could I possibly say 'no' to you?" He laughed again. He cupped Scorpius' cheek. "I'm kind of a pushover, aren't I?"

"Well...yes. But I do mean it."

"I...still don't know why you cut your hair though," James said, slowly running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh well...I...I only grew it out because Albus likes long hair in the first place," Scorpius murmured, knowing how stupid that sounded. "So I wanted to...I don't know...do something...drastic and unexpected to um...start fresh. So you'd know I meant it."

"Well, I like it short. It suits you," James said sweetly.

"Ooo! Ooo! Now you two should kiss!" Roxie cheered from her spot by the tree. Scorpius began to laugh. He had forgotten about his audience completely. He looked over at them. Albus and Melody both flashed him a thumbs up, and for the first time Scorpius really didn't want to scratch out the girl's eyes. She made Albus happy. It was whatever.

"Ah, we seem to have a request," James said and leaned in. He kissed Scorpius, and Scorpius couldn't think about anything else. He had done it. He had gotten James back. The kiss was deep and slow, innocent enough for now, but it reminded Scorpius that as much as he had missed James, James must have missed him just as much.

The kiss dissolved into laughter as Roxie, Lily and Hugo began to applaud for them.

. . .

_Room of Requirement. 9pm. Don't be late, Potter._

Scorpius was laying on the double wide, plush sofa the Room had made for him, staring up a the ceiling trying not to be too nervous. The room had gone all out for him it seemed. Scorpius worried it might be a little over the top. The sofa was wide enough for at two people to comfortably lay on. The wall were draped with curtains and the far was was adorned with a large, warm fireplace. The fire crackled with comforting white noise.

He was still getting used to officially being James' boyfriend, because they really were boyfriends now, weren't they? Feeling out how their relationship had changed was still new and exciting.

He liked it though. He liked how proud James looked when they were together in the hallways. Even Lily and Molly had begun to tone down their snarky remarks lately. Roxie had helped his clean up his hair cut, despite lamenting the fact that she couldn't braid his hair anymore. Things were going...unexpectedly well.

The door opened with a soft click.

"Ah, so you beat me here, Princess," James said, leaning over the sofa to look down at Scorpius.

Scorpius gave a small smile as he took a moment to look up at his boyfriend. He reached up and brushed James' bangs to the side, letting the soft dark hair slide through his fingers. "You're almost late."

"Almost," James said and stood up. He kicked his shoes off and laid on the sofa next to him, pulling Scorpius close. "Just look, I got me a Princess in an enchanted castle, waiting in a magical room just for me."

"Oh shut up, James," Scorpius laughed and shoved him lightly. James responded by kissing him. It was, Scorpius thought, really the best course of action. James' kisses were addictive. James slowly rolled on top of him, pinning Scorpius in the cushions, running his fingers through his hair softly. Each kiss was slow and deep, warm, wet, and left Scorpius struggling to breath.

They kissed for what felt like a long time. Scorpius was lost in the feeling of James' body against him, the way his muscles moved under his shirt, how his hair still smelled like shampoo. He had kissed James so many times, but it seemed like he had always been thinking of Albus before. Now, with no thoughts of Albus in sight, Scorpius was swept up by James and all his incredible James-ness.

He wanted more. More than he had ever had before.

Scorpius was still nervous about going all the way with James. He couldn't help it. The act would make him so vulnerable, make him submissive but...well, with James kissing him like that, and after what a crazy week he had just had, maybe...if it was James...it would be worth it. James made him feel safe. It was a ridiculous, embarrassing kind of thing to think, he knew, but...well...

"James," Scorpius breathed, panting hard already. They had fallen back into their routine of handjobs and blowjobs pretty quickly since they had gotten back together, but they hadn't gone further. Scorpius thought that tonight they might change that.

"Mmm, yes?" James said nuzzling their noses together as one hand traced down Scorpius' shirt, fingers skimming under the hem to tease at the skin.

"James, I...want you," Scorpius breathed. He slid his hand up James' neck, tangling in the hair at the base of his hair line.

"Oh yes, I want you too," James said with a chuckle.

"No, no James...I..._want._...you. Like..." Scorpius raised his eyebrows, hoping James would catch on. Luckily, for his pride, James did.

"You...oh. OH. You...really?" James said. It was no secret that James was always willing, and wanting to, go further with Scorpius. He also knew how uncomfortable it made Scorpius. He seemed surprised and reasonably so by the abrupt request.

"I...I want you try," Scorpius blushed. "You know, we've been together a while and...I trust you James. I want to...do everything with you."

"Yeah? That must be a blow to your pretty Princess pride," he teased. Scorpius threw him a dangerous look though, so James straightened up. "Yeah. Right though. Yes. Yes," James nodded, obviously trying not to sound overly thrilled. "Really?"

"James, come on," Scorpius was blushing even more. "Are you going to make me regret telling you that?"

"No, no. I...I really want you too, Scorpius," He said softly. "Um...if you want me to stop just say the word, ok? I will."

"Yeah, I know James. Please...just kiss me." James did as he was told, thank goodness, because talking about it was only making Scorpius more nervous. Kissing helped. This kiss was very much like the one before, but with a new urgency and the promise of something more. Slowly James' fingers slid over Scorpius' shirt buttons, undoing each one slowly and then sliding the rough pads of his fingers over the newly exposed skin.

It didn't take long for James to pull Scorpius' shirt completely off. His warm hands ran over each rib slowly while he kissed Scorpius in his slow, hungry way. Scorpius felt completely breathless.

Scorpius wasn't going to let James completely dominate him though. Oh no, if he was going to do this, he was going to show that he could hold his own too. Scorpius pressed both of his hands against James' chest and pushed him up until he was sitting and then adjusted slightly, forcing James to lay on his back.

Scorpius straddled James' hips. He could feel James' cock pressing up against him through the fabric of their trousers. James was looking up at him, panting slightly with his hair falling in his eyes. Scorpius gave a smug little smirk at that, proud of the effect he could have. He leaned down, biting softly at the tender spots on James' neck, tasting the salt on his skin while he worked on getting James' shirt off.

"Merlin, Scorpius. You are the hottest boy I've ever met," James panted, running his hands over Scorpius' bare back.

"Oh?" Scorpius whispered, his breath hot on James skin. "Even hotter than Timothy Nott?" There was a twinge of jealous in that last question. Scorpius barely knew the Nott boy, who had graduated the year before. But he was the boy, Scorpius knew, that almost certainly got James' virginity.

"Nott couldn't hold a candle to you, Princess," James said, running his hands down Scorpius' back until they were cradling his ass.

"Ok, stop calling me Princess," Scorpius said and nipped at James' neck. James gave a small moan.

James lifted Scorpius up slightly and rolled him onto his back so that James was on top again and resumed kissing him. His fingers quickly found the buttons on Scorpius' trousers. "A button fly? Are you kidding me? You know I hate these," James said, laughing slightly as he pulled the offending clothing off of Scorpius along with his underwear.

Despite the room being cold, Scorpius' body felt too hot. Like his skin was burning, hyper sensitive to every touch. This was not their normal rough and tumble in broom closets. This, already, felt like so much more. The rough pads of James' fingers on his skin burned and made him shiver. James' body heat washed over him, the scent of his body wash and sweat filling Scorpius' senses. James' hands wandered over his chest, his hips, his fingers brushing slowly over Scorpius' ever stiffening cock.

Slowly James pulled away. "Are you ready for more, Scorpius?" he asked, his voice husky with lust.

Scorpius gave a small nod, his body already trembling in anticipation. James sat up, pulled off the last of his own clothing, and leaned over to the small coffee table at the end of the sofa. He pulled out a small bottle of lube that the room had apparently made for them and, with a self satisfied smirk, poured a small amount onto his fingers. "I'm always impressed by how good the room is at guessing just what we want," James said as Scorpius found himself blushing even more intensely.

"Ok. Now remember, if you want me to stop," James said, sliding his hand down between Scorpius' thighs until his slick finger was pressed against his ass.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll say so," Scorpius said, curling his fingers into the fabric of the sofa and biting his lip.

James gave him a soft affectionate kiss and slowly pressed one of his fingers inside him. Scorpius gave a sharp gasp, arching his back as the sensation filled him. Slightly painful, too tight but, oh, the way that James was pressing deeper inside him made Scorpius not want it to stop. James went slowly, stretching out each ring of muscles inside of him, the heat and pressure swimming in Scorpius' mind.

Slowly James pressed a second finger in, and Scorpius gave a small moan. The pain was fading away, replace by a rather overwhelming desire for more. James pulled away slowly and placed another kiss on Scorpius' lips. "How are you doing?"

"J-James...please," Scorpius panted, missing the body heat and feeling of James' skin against his.

"You're ready?" James asked, a tint of nervousness in his voice. Scorpius gave a small breathless nod. "Ok, and if-"

"James, if you tell me that you'll stop if I ask one more time, I will murder you. Please," Scorpius said, looking up at him.

James gave a small laugh. "Ok, ok, Princess."

"And seriously, stop calling me that. I want you to fuck me, James. Not tease me," Scorpius said, too turned on to even feel shame anymore. James' face was turning a bright red as he laughed more.

"Ok, I'm sorry," James said softly and kissed Scorpius again. "I love you, ya know," he whispered. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," he whispered in between kisses. Scorpius couldn't think of any reply to that, because it was exactly what he had been thinking. His James. There was no way Scorpius deserved him, and yet somehow he had him. He supposed Malfoys always did get what they wanted in the end.

"You're perfect," Scorpius whispered in reply.

James placed one more kiss on his lips and grabbed Scorpius' hips. He pressed the head of his cock against Scorpius' entrance. Slowly he slid inside of Scorpius, moaning out at the tightness and the pleasure that overwhelmed him. Scorpius gasped out, lights flickering behind his eyes as James' cock burrowed into him. James leaned down and placed a breathless kiss on Scorpius' forehead before he slid his cock back out slightly only to thrust back in.

"Oh fuck..." James moaned out. His dig his fingers into Scorpius' thighs, holding the boy's body tightly as his thrusts began to pick up in speed. Each thrust sent curling, crackling waves of pleasure through Scorpius' body.

"J-James," Scorpius panted. His head was spinning with the heat, the tint of sweat and friction and oh god, James. His James. Brown, wild eyes and that tan body, and his easy smile. His James, inside him, his hands on his hips and Scorpius could barely breath. James' thrusts were slowly picking up in speed.

Scorpius wrapped his arms around James' shoulders, holding onto him tightly, soaking in the heat from the older boy as all the friction began to build up inside him. The head of James' cock sliding in Scorpius' body was maddening. Scorpius felt as though he had lost all control, but James was there, making him feel safe, holding him so tightly as his body screamed for more.

"J-James, I...I'm getting close. I don't know how much longer I..." Scorpius managed to pant.

"It's ok. I...I'm close too, Scorpius," Jams said, his voice shaky with panting as he thrust into him.

One more breathless minute of thrusting and the fire finally bubbled up in Scorpius' core. The pleasure reached the tipping joint, right on the edge, driving his mind blank as he came hard, spilling his seed onto his own stomach. His body tightened and twitched around James' cock. At that, James gave a final, desperate moan and Scorpius felt James' seed fill him up. James gripped him even tighter as he came, burrowed all the way into him.

James went limp on top of Scorpius, breathing hard. Scorpius was struggling to catch his breath as well, his vision still blurry and his body still humming from his orgasm. He ran his hands slowly through James' sweaty hair.

With a groan, James finally pulled himself out of Scorpius and laid next to him. He pulled Scorpius over to lay on his chest.

"I love you," James said softly, nuzzling into Scorpius' hair. "That was awesome. Thank you."

"Don't thank me for getting you off Potter," Scorpius said in a teasing voice. "It's weird."

"You're such a brat," James laughed. "I love you. You're perfect."

"And you're a hopeless cheesy romantic. But...I love you too," Scorpius said softly, closing his eyes. He laid a hand over James' bare chest, where his heart was. He felt utterly content in that moment. Everything was perfect.

"James?" Scorpius said softly. "If I fall asleep, you won't leave without waking me up, right?" he asked, a small yawn slipping through his lips.

"Of course. Sleep well, Scorpius," James said softly and held him close while Scorpius gently drifted off to sleep.

. . .

James had started eating lunch with the Slytherins. It wasn't strictly allowed, but the professors always enjoyed seeing more inter-house friendships. Their housemates weren't exactly fond of this, but none of them tried to stop them. James seemed entirely too pleased about this arrangement, and their new found relationship as well. He liked to flaunt it, the egotistical git.

Still, Scorpius wasn't complaining. He had managed to keep this whole thing a secret from his father for now, and no one appeared scandalized enough by it to write to Draco Malfoy. Scorpius and James had promised to tell their fathers about their relationship over the summer, but that was a hurdle they would cross in time.

Albus seemed to be the biggest supporter of their relationship, though he had apparently told James that if he broke his heart there would be hell to pay. Scorpius wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or flattered by that.

Everything was falling into place though.

"Slytherin VS Gryffindor game tomorrow," Lysander Lovegood-Scamander said, walking up to the Slytherin table at lunch. "I have to wonder who Scorpius is going to root for."

"We sort of took a bet on it," Lorcan added, standing behind his brother.

Albus and James both turned to Scorpius, smirking. Scorpius mentally cursed those awful Potter boys for making his life so bloody difficult. What was he supposed to say? He was in Slytherin, and Al was his best friend. And James? Well, that spoke for itself.

"You can't expect me to pick," Scorpius said, not liking to be put on the spot. "I'm going to be too distracted by how bloody attractive these two are in their Quidditch gear to pay attention to the match anyway," he sighed. "I missed the last match."

"Mmm, that so?" James laughed. "Maybe you can get a preview of the gear tonight then?"

"Oi, James," Albus said, trying not to laugh. "Not while I'm eating."

"I think this is a victory for James. Pay up Lorcan," Lysander laughed while his brother begrudgingly handed over a few coins.

James gave a triumphant smirk and kissed Scorpius right in front of them all. Scorpius didn't mind.

. . .

James was being terribly quiet on the train ride back to the station. He had his head in Scorpius' lap, and laid very still staring out the window. Scorpius understood why James was so lost in thought. This was a big moment for him. James' 7th year was over, he had won the Quidditch cup, had graduated, in the Fall he was off to training with Puddlemere United. It appeared that James' brain had overloaded and shut down.

Albus and Melody sat on the bench across from them. Part of Scorpius still wished that Melody wasn't around all the time. She was nice enough, and she made Albus happy, but she also had a habit of stealing his attention and Scorpius still really liked spending time with his best friend. Still, his urges to rip out her eyes were at least over.

"James, are you ok?" Scorpius finally asked, looking down at his boyfriend. The last few months of school had been a delirious happy blur. N.E.W.T.S and O.W.L.S and Quidditch and long, hot nights in the Prefects bathroom where the oppressive rising heat of summer met the cool slick tiles of the bathroom wall. Their relationship, and it really was a relationship now, was better than Scorpius could have hoped.

"I'm never going to ride this train as a student again," James said softly and gave a suffering sigh. James was not taking the end of this golden period well. Scorpius could understand really. He wasn't happy about the idea of suffering through two more years of school without James either. Still, he would have Albus and Rose to keep him company. James was being a baby about this.

Both Scorpius and Albus rolled their eyes and gave each other a small smirk.

"Come on, Jamie," Albus said. "You're off to be a big time Quidditch star. Perk up, mate," he said to his older brother.

"Yeah but..." James looked up at Scorpius and gave a small pouty face.

"But what, James?" Scorpius asked.

"You're not going to replace me with some new boy just because I'm gone, right?" James asked Scoprius and sat up. He looked honestly concerned.

"...what?" Scorpius asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You know, I won't be around. So...maybe you'll find some hot dude who is always around. Leonard from Ravenclaw maybe? He's cute! But I'll come by all the time! Every Quidditch game for Al and all your Hogsmead trips and everything! Ad I'll write you sexy letters about all the naughty things I want to do to you all the time, so..." James said, looking completely earnest.

"James you dolt," Scorpius blushed deeply, trying not to look over at Albus' amused expression. "You're the one I should be worried about! You'll have fangirls now! Fanboys!" Scorpius said, teasing.

"What fanboy could hold a candle to you, Princess?" James said looking placated and ruffled Scorpius' hair. It was James' new favorite thing to do since the infamous hair cut. "But you! You're adorable. All the boys will want you as soon as I'm gone!"

"Oh shut it, James," Scorpius blushed and tried to fix his hair.

"You two are cute," Melody gave a small giggle, laying her head on Albus' shoulder.

"Seriously, should we leave? Do you need a room?" Albus laughed. Scorpius shot them both a rather scathing look causing Albus to break out into laughter. His ferret, Rarity, jumped off Albus' lap and into Scorpius'.

Scorpius pet the little ferret happily while James fell into conversation with Albus about their summer plans. The British countryside sped outside the windows on their last train ride home together. Scorpius tried to shake off the melancholy that threatened him.

Soon enough they were at the station, gathering up their things. Albus and Melody rushed ahead to find their parents and try to convince the easily flustered Professor Longbottom that Melody should be allowed to vacation with the Potters that summer, to France, to visit Bill and Fluer Weasley.

"Maybe we can get your dad to let you come along as well," James suggested as the two of them exited the train together. Scorpius thought that it wasn't terribly likely that his father would instantly agree. Maybe if he brought it to his mother first though he would stand a better chance.

"Oh look," James said. "There's your dad. I guess...you better go say hello," James said, his voice trailing off as he spotted Draco Malfoy making his way towards them. Scorpius could see James' hesitation. Saying goodbye today wasn't going to be easy for him.

"Hey, James?" Scorpius asked softly. "Did you mean what you said? About coming to see me when you could?"

"Of course I did. It'll be tough for the nest two years until you graduate, but we'll make it work. Promise."

"Promise."

It didn't matter that Scorpius knew his father was walking towards them right in view. It didn't matter that the Potters were no doubt near by looking for their son. It didn't matter that everyone in the world could see them. Scorpius grabbed James by the collar and kissed him deeply.

James Potter was his, and he wanted the world to know it.

. . .

. . .

_Five Years Later _

Scorpius was sitting on the sofa, pretending to read the finance section of the _Prophet_ when James burst into their flat. Scorpius was actually reading the sports section, tucked inside the finance section, just in case. Truthfully, he liked reading about James in the paper, but he would be damned if James knew that. His boyfriend's ego was ridiculous enough already.

"I'm home!" James called as he bustled into the kitchen. "I got the mail, and Chinese!"

"Ooo, goody," Scorpius said, still reading the paper. He honestly didn't like Chinese food, but James did. He could suffer through a cardboard box of low mein every now and then if it meant keeping his boyfriend happy. James was his boyfriend wasn't he? It felt odd after so long, but nothing else seemed to fit. _Lover_ sounded ridiculous, and _life partner_ was only worse.

"They want to name me MVP again this year," James said, still in the kitchen, no doubt shifting through the mail.

"Wow. Good job," Scorpius said, trying to sound surprised while making an extra effort to hide today's sports section. "Get any more fan mail today?"

"Mhm," James walked in the room with a pile of mail. Damn. He'd have to finish the article later. He turned to an actual finance article quickly as James flopped down in an arm chair.

"So, Chinese again?" Scorpius said. He really wished James would let him get a house elf for the flat. There was no reason not to. Between James' super star salary and Scorpius' trust funds they had plenty of money, and it would be nice to have an elf around to cook for them. No more low mein then. But James was stubborn that way, said his Aunt Hermione would throw a fit if he bought an elf.

"Mhm," James said, flipping through a stack of envelopes. "Ooo, this one is from Al," he said.

Scorpius perked up at that. Al was teaching at Hogwarts these days, a position that kept him rather busy. With James having Quidditch all the time, and Scorpius' getting advanced healer's training at St. Mungo's they hadn't hung out in a while. "Oh? What's new with Professor Potter?"

"Oh my Merlin," James said, standing back up. The stack of unread mail fell onto the floor.

"James?"

"Holy mother of wizarding God."

"James, what is it?" Scorpius said, beginning to wonder if he should be concerned.

"Al's getting married." James said, staring at the paper, which Scorpius now assumed was a wedding invitation.

"Al's getting married? To Melody?"

"Well, not to the Loch Ness Monster, Scorp! Yes, to Melody! Holy crap, we finally got the Longbottoms in the family!" James cheered. "We get to go to a wedding!"

"James," Scorpius laughed. "Calm down. Yes, we get to go to a wedding."

"I gotta go tell Teddy! I wonder if he knows yet!" James said and ran off towards their fireplace to make a call.

Scorpius gave a small laugh. So, Al and Melody were finally getting married. Well, good for them. He stared after his boyfriend...lover...life partner...ack. Maybe, he told himself, he'd make an effort to catch that bouquet. His father wouldn't like it, and his grandfather would probably have a heart attack when he heard, but Scorpius could probably live with the title of _husband_.

. . .

End

. . .

A/N: So this is it. I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck with me through the process of writing this; my wonderful boyfriend for ALL his help, for everyone who left reviews, and everyone who cheered me on.


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